Smoke rises from a multi-storey residential building on fire in Baku, Azerbaijan, May 19, 2015. (Reuters/Ehtiram Jabi) / Reuters

Seventeen people are dead and more than 60 injured, after an apartment block in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, went up in flames in just seconds. Officials blame cheap plastic paneling for the rapid escalation of the fire.

“We received an
emergency call about the fire at 10:57 am. It was difficult for
the fire vehicles to get right up to the building, as it was
blocked and the fire spread to the top floors,” said deputy
emergencies minister Etibar Mirzoev.

As the fire consumed the 16-story Soviet-era high-rise, which had
been renovated in recent years, a traffic jam formed as onlookers
gathered on the surrounding streets. Gas canisters kept by the
building’s inhabitants began to explode. Eventually more than 40
fire vehicles and ambulances were called to the scene. Two
helicopters circled the top floor, though officials say they were
“ineffective.” Footage showed panicking residents
begging the emergency staff to let them back inside the building,
where their relatives remained trapped.

It took four hours to put out the fire by which time most of the
victims, including three children, were long dead.

“Those who stayed in their flats did not suffer any injuries
from the fire. However, those who tried to leave the building in
a panic were poisoned by smoke,” said Mirzoev.

Zakir Garalov, the prosecutor general in the Muslim Caucasus
republic, blamed the polyurethane paneling that was applied to
the housing block for the spectacular speed of the blaze. The
head of the company in charge of tiling the building, Global
Construction, was arrested later Tuesday afternoon.

More than 800, mostly pre-independence buildings in Baku have
been clad in similar gaudy panels, despite previously voiced
concerns from the media. The city’s mass redecoration has been
spurred by an oil and gas boom in recent years. State television
showed footage of workers removing the paneling from several
apartment blocks just hours after the fire was extinguished.

Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, which is due to host
its biggest-ever public event, the European Games, next month,
said he was taking personal control of the investigation.

"Individuals and institutions who have committed violations,
will be severely punished," asserted his aide Ali Hasanov.
He also reported that the former residents of the charred
building had been rehoused, and promised they would be
compensated by the state.